Where To Buy Ice Cream, Cakes & Cookies In San Francisco

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Today we will be breaking down the best places to buy ice cream, cakes, and cookies in San Francisco. There are numerous dessert shops selling sweets around town and you will be learning about the top options as this blog progresses.

The best ice cream shops in your area will kick things off. Those that love vanilla, chocolate, gelato, frozen yogurt, malts, ice cream cakes, and other frozen delights have numerous options to choose from.

Bakeries where you can buy cakes, cookies, pastries, and all kinds of sweet treats will be up next. After that we will focus on donut shops, where to buy cupcakes, candy stores, and chocolate and fudge shops near you.

Then we will pivot to healthy dessert options like San Francisco gluten free bakeries and smoothie shops. Restaurants that are known for their must have desserts in your area will round us out.

A local dessert map that has all the various venues we are mentioning throughout the post pinned on it will be shared at the end. And the curious types can find all of our other posts on the Pacific Northwest at that link.

Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt

The best San Francisco ice cream shops or some healthier frozen yogurt can be found at:

Mitchell’s scoops up 40 different types of ice cream in your area every day including mango which is their most popular flavor. They also offer delectable sundaes, milkshakes, smoothies, ice cream sandwiches, and ice cream cakes.

A collection of over 500 handcrafted recipes and 49 different flavors are available at Polly Ann.

You can choose from over 24 ice cream flavors, handcrafted sundaes, baked goods, and pre packaged novelty items at Bi-Rite Creamery.

Loving Cup makes frozen yogurts near you using nonfat cultured milk and serves thousands of combinations that are prepared with fresh baked cookies, chocolate pieces, fruits and berries, homemade salted caramel, and locally roasted espresso beans.

Easy Breezy specializes in nutritious frozen yogurt, custard, and vegan soft serve ice cream.

From tart to sweet to wonderful vanilla and chocolate classics Yoppi has all flavors as well as acai root bowls with vegan options.

Icicles specializes in ice cream rolls that are available in a wide range of bespoke flavors with non dairy options as well as a large assortment of toppings.

You can buy artisanal style ice cream, fresh fruit popsicles, ice cream, smoothies, and plenty more at Monarca.

Italian classics, American favorites, and exotic world flavors featuring Stracciatella, pistachio, dark chocolate, and strawberry sorbetto are all available at SF Gelateria.

Corner is a local frozen yogurt shop providing 10 different flavors and a variety of toppings for you to choose from.

CREAM serves delicious ice cream tacos, sundaes, milkshakes, vegan, and gluten free cookies, and soy ice cream.

MYO sells high quality frozen yogurt in 8 different flavors like white vanilla, Dutch chocolate, and pure tart with sugar and dairy free options. Their treats include roughly 100 million beneficial live and active cultures per gram.

Over 100 rotating frozen yogurt flavors with vegan, gluten free, non dairy, kosher, low carb, and low fat options as well as 70 rotating toppings are available at Menchie’s.

You can also head to Heidi’s Pies and Palo Alto Creamery from our San Francisco restaurants with great desserts list for some of the best ice creams.

Bakeries In Your Area

Custom cupcakes San Francisco chocolate candy shops

Great cakes, cookies, pastries, and more are available at these great bakeries:

Tartine Bakery offers a seasonal selection of breads, pastries, cakes, cookies, and tarts.

Bread, scones, muffins, sourdough croissants, brioche, cookies, brownies, and Focaccia are some of Arizmendi Bakery’s products.

Dianda’s specializes in fine traditional Italian baked sweets in your area such as whip cream eclairs, custard eclairs, tiramisu slices, cream puffs, almond tortes, cheese Danishes, bear claws, and almond rings. Their specialty cakes include strawberry shortcake, cappuccino, and tiramisu.

A fine assortment of French style cakes and pastries in Redwood City that are free of preservatives and artificial ingredients are available at Cocola.

Douce makes French cakes, tarts, pastries, desserts, and other baked sweets in Palo Alto all throughout the day.

Kara’s, Sprinkles Palo Alto, Love at First Bite, Cupcakin Bake Shop, Wholesome, Mariposa, and Heidi’s Pies all deserve a shout out in this section and you can find their links in other lists.

Local Donut Shops

Stop by one of these donut shops on your way to work:

Johnny Doughnuts is open every day at 7am.

Both Bob’s and Chuck’s are open 24 hours a day selling high quality donuts in your area.

You can get donuts and coffee at Dynamo seven days a week.

Trish’s Mini Donuts, Mochill Mochidonut, and Mochinut are open at 11am daily.

Twisted sells donuts and coffee throughout the week starting at 7am except for Monday and Tuesday when they are closed.

Uncle Benny’s is open every day at 4am offering really good donuts and bagels early in the morning.

Apple Fritter serves donuts in San Mateo on weekdays starting at 7:30am and 8am on weekends.

You can also head to Happy Donuts in Palo Alto every day starting at 5am for some really good treats.

Great Donuts is a good option too starting at 6am Tuesday through Sunday.

Both Dream Fluff and Rainbow provide donuts in Berkeley early in the morning seven days a week.

You can also buy donuts at Mariposa and Misfits Bakehouse from our other lists.

Where To Buy Cupcakes

We highly recommend these cupcake shops around town:

La Luna customizes cupcakes and offers vegan and gluten free options while also making seasonal cake pops.

Exquisite handcrafted cupcakes, cakes, and other sweet delicacies featuring classic and seasonal flavors with vegan and gluten free options are offered at Kara’s.

Sibby’s specializes in custom cupcakes in San Mateo offering 3 different sizes such as mini, regular, and jumbo and even provides signature designs, classics, and custom themes in addition to gluten free options.

Cleo Sweets makes each cupcake and cake pop from scratch and provides a wide range of toppings and flavors including sanding sugars, jimmies, sculpted sprinkles, and shimmer.

Cupcakes, layered cakes, and gluten free chocolate chip cookies are available at Sprinkles Palo Alto.

Love at First Bite creates 12 to 15 different flavors of cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and other baked products and is also a great place to buy chocolates near you.

There are 19 flavors including vegan and gluten free versions as well as cakes with different flavors and patterns at Cupcakin Bake Shop in Berkeley.

Wholesome, Mariposa, and Cafe La Tartine from some different lists are also good options for delicious cupcakes.

Candy Stores Near You

Kids will love all the options at these local candy stores:

The Candy Store offers old fashioned sweets including some of the best confections from around the world and nostalgic goodies as well as chocolate bars, licorice, gummies, sours, and plenty more.

A nice display of high quality local and international candies, licorice, gummies, chocolate bars, and crunchies can be found at Giddy.

Honeycomb, marzipan, cherry cordials, divinity, and other hard to find candies are sold at Littlejohn’s.

You can make your own personalized mixed boxes of chocolates and candies near you and also get boxed chocolates, nuts and chews, lollipops, and sugar free confectionery at See’s.

Sweet Dreams sells a variety of candies like old fashioned sweets, Jelly Bellies, gummies, sours, and licorice as well as chocolates and sugar free treats.

Chocolate & Fudge Shops

When you want to buy homemade chocolate or fudge visit one of these shops:

Chocolate Covered offers one of the most diverse selections of artisanal chocolates from all over the world including the United States, Canada, England, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Eastern Europe, South America, Mexico, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Africa, Middle East, and more.

Champagne and assorted truffles, chocolates, bars, jams, cookies, pastries, and whimsical boxes are offered at Teuscher.

Socola Chocolatier sells Asian inspired truffles, chocolate bars, and other sweets in addition to being well known for their durian and pho truffles, chocolate mooncakes, and little Saigon box.

Casa de Chocolates is known for its innovative flavor combinations including the award winning mole bonbon, chipotle caramel, tapatio, Inca peanut butter, guayaba, tequila butterfly, flor de cana mojito bon bons, and much more.

Remember that Love at First Bite also has a nice selection of chocolates, and any of the candy stores in San Francisco we just mentioned will also be able to sort you out.

Gluten Free Bakeries

Gluten free bakeries can provide some healthier options:

Homemade vegan pastries and sweets like cupcakes, fudge brownies, carrot and confetti cakes, and bread that are free of gluten, soy, and sugar are available at Wholesome.

You can buy gluten free croissants, pastries, brownies, donuts, muffins, cakes, cupcakes, pies, cookies, and biscotti at Mariposa as well as savory goods like breads, rustic croutons, bagels, pizza crusts, and scones.

Misfits Bakehouse makes vegan, paleo, keto friendly, and non GMO baked products like bread, pastries, donuts, and baklava that are free of gluten, corn, grain, soy, and sugar.

Many of the bakeries and cupcake shops near you we mentioned earlier have gluten free options as well.

Smoothies

For a tasty yet healthy choice consider these smoothie shops:

Local Restaurants With Great Desserts

Must have desserts near you can also be found at these restaurants:

Cotogna is known to make some of the best desserts in San Francisco including their mascarpone tart with strawberries, chocolate and pistachio crespelle with ricotta gelato, pan dulcis with rum caramel and vanilla bean, and Jenn’s gelato in addition to their homemade pastas, grilled meats, and wood oven roasted seafood.

Octavia has a great local dessert menu featuring eton mess, Tahitian vanilla panna cotta, and dark chocolate crème brûlée tart.

Innovative mind bending treats like pineapple paletas spun in coconut sugar and a whole course of chocolates as well as Mexican inspired cuisine are offered at Californios.

Atelier Crenn is a three Michelin star French restaurant serving scrumptious sweets including aubergine fumée.

A wide range of delectable breakfast, lunch, and dinner options as well as old fashioned ice cream sundaes, delights, and banana splits in San Mateo are provided at Heidi’s Pies.

Cafe La Tartine has a fine assortment of pastries and desserts in Redwood City such as croissants, cookies, tarts, feullittes, cupcakes, and mini desserts.

Palo Alto Creamery is known for its fountain treats that include milk shakes, banana splits, ice cream, and egg cream.

You might also want to read our posts on:

Enjoy Ice Cream, Cookies & Cakes In San Francisco

That is all we’ve got for now but visit us again because we plan to update this post often. After reading about all these local shops to buy ice cream, frozen yogurt, cookies, cakes, pastries, other bakery items, cupcakes, donuts, chocolate, fudge, candy, gluten free baked goods, smoothies, and even restaurants with can’t miss desserts in your area you should be ready to find your next sweet indulgence.

Don’t be afraid to let us know if any shops have closed down or if we posted anything that is incorrect in the comments. Now have fun eating your ice cream, cookies, and cakes in San Francisco.

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